Florida senator wants state to create gambling commission

Since the news broke that the Florida Governor and the Seminole Tribe reached a $3 billion compact for gaming in the state, Senator Maria Sachs has decided the state needs to create a gambling commission. On Monday, Sachs filed legislation to propose a commission, consisting of five members, to be appointed by the governor. The bill would create a Department of Gaming, which would oversee all activity of gaming entities within the state.

Sachs stated that there is a ‘compelling need’ for a gaming commission as well as a department of gaming to be created. The function of said groups would be to oversee the gaming of the state in regards to the operators as well as regulate operations, enforce gaming laws and audit proceeds from the operations of gambling.

The proposal for the new agency would combine the duties of all the above departments into one group. There have apparently been other proposals to create such a commission but the proposals failed to move forward. However, government officials seem to be on board with the proposal, so it would not be surprising to see the measure pass to help regulate the gaming industry within the state.

Florida senator wants state to create gambling commission was last modified: December 23rd, 2015 by Marie Kelley

One Response

Senator Sachs proposal to form a Gaming Commission seems a logical step for Florida to take. But without permission of the Seminole Tribe, the largest part of Florida gaming would be excluded from Commission oversight. Also since most of the rest of casino gaming takes place at pari-mutual’s, it would seem that the FL Pari-Mutual Commission should also be part of the same Commission. And that brings up another gaming operation, the Florida Lottery; that may in future have conflicts with casino gaming, as new Lottery games could take the form of Fantasy Sports, Sports Betting or Online Wagering.